HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (WTVR) - Several Elko Middle School students were taken to the hospital following a morning school bus accident, according to Henrico Police Lt. Linda Toney. She added the students' injuries do not appear to be serious.
The accident happened around 8:05 a.m. near the intersection of Nine Mile Road and Battery Street in eastern Henrico.
The bus was traveling on Nine Mile Road, when a car driving behind it hit another vehicle, according the Henrico County Police. The vehicle that was hit then struck the school bus. Eleven students were transported to local hospitals, according to Henrico Public Schools spokesperson Andy Jenks.
"I don't know the extent of the injuries. I've heard that the injuries were minor, but it involves children, so you don't want to speculate on what they are feeling," said Jenks.
The driver of the car that initially rear-ended the other vehicle has been charged with reckless driving, according to Lt. Toney.
Any student who was not harmed was taken to school on another bus. The parents of all the students on the bus were contacted, Jenks said, but Henrico reached out to the parents of injured students first.
"Clearly anytime an incident involves a school bus, parents are going to want to know if their child was involved and how their child is doing," said Jenks. "We work to get information out to parents as quickly as possible."
